Flood risk management needs to stay at the top of the public and political agenda, even after flood waters recede, shadow environment minister Sue Hayman MP has stated, as she addressed the need for a co-ordinated approach to water level management, and a fair funding formula.
The Shadow Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs was speaking at the 81st annual conference of ADA, the membership organisation for drainage, water level and flood risk management authorities.
Drawing on her own experiences within her Workington constituency in Cumbria, the MP described the devastating impact of Storm Desmond on the community in Cumbria just six months after her election in 2015.
Sue Hayman suggested that farmers and landowners could again play an important role in future flood risk management. Previous activities by local farmers and residents to keep watercourses clear of excess gravel and rubble had largely ceased due to restrictions.
Noting the important role the Environment Agency, local councils and flood risk authorities such as Internal Drainage Boards (IDBs) have in co-ordinating community activities, the Shadow Minister also stated that a joined-up approach was required at all levels.
“What I think the challenge is, when the flood waters recede, and all the television crews disappear, how do we keep the issue of that kind of flooding at the top of, not just the news agenda, but the political agenda?” she asked.
The shadow minister highlighted the need for a cross-party approach to flooding, recognising the work of Parliamentary Under Secretary of State for the Environment, Thérèse Coffey MP, in engaging with local MPs and communities on flooding issues.
However, she raised concerns about the current funding formula for rural areas, like Cumbria, with sparse populations, but higher flood risk. “When you’re looking at asset damage and cost, you need to also consider how often it floods and how deep it floods,” she said, explaining the idea had been put forward in a proposal by six Cumbrian MPs to Ministers.
With the UK government demanding a 50% reduction in storm overflow spills by 2029, the era of reactive management is over. Speaking in the House of Commons on 21 July 2025, then environment secretary Steve Reed said, “This Government will cut water companies’ sewage pollution in half by the end of the decade.”
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